


Bonfire Friday

by bethygreene



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Maggie and Rick ship it so hard, SO MUCH FLUFF
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-05
Updated: 2017-01-05
Packaged: 2018-09-14 23:41:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9210461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bethygreene/pseuds/bethygreene
Summary: “Daryl doesn’t wanna go to the bonfire because Jesus is gonna be there,” Maggie said, and Rick grinned, “but somethin’ tells me you already know that. Anyway, Jesus always goes to the bonfire hopin’ that he’s gonna run into Daryl there. I know it ain’t none of our business, not really, but those two idiots obviously have feelin’s for each other. And if they ain’t gonna do anythin’ about it, then I say we make ‘em do somethin’.”Rick let out a chuckle and ran a hand over his beard. “So let me get this right. You wanna play matchmaker?”Maggie smirked. “You interested?”“Hell yeah.”





	

**Author's Note:**

> I had so much fun writing this. This ship is ruining me. 
> 
> Enjoy. Xo

Maggie was sitting outside on the porch of Rick’s home in Alexandria. It was a nice day outside and it wasn’t too hot or too cool, it was somewhere right in between. She had her son, Hershel, as well as Judith, outside with her. They were sitting on a blanket at her feet, playing with some of the new toys that Jesus had found, and brought back for them, while he was out on his latest run. Her husband Glenn sat in a chair beside of her, holding her hand as they both paid special attention to the small children in front of them.

She knew that she and her family would have to be returning back to Hilltop soon, but she’d truly enjoyed the time that she’d spent in Alexandria over the last two days. Tonight was their last night here and she intended to make the most of it. To top it all off, it was Bonfire Friday.

She couldn’t remember exactly whose idea it was to have a bonfire every Friday night, but she was grateful that the people in Alexandria, her family, had some kind of fun tradition to look forward to every week. Of course, she couldn’t make it to every single bonfire gathering, but she made it a point to be at them whenever she could be.

Rick walked out the front door with two freshly made glasses of lemonade in his hands. He sat the glasses down on the small wooden table that was in between Maggie and Glenn before walking over to the edge of the porch and taking a seat on the top step.

Maggie let go of her husband’s hand and picked up the glass of lemonade that was closest to her. She brought it up to her lips and took a long drink before setting it back down on its rightful place on the table.

“Figured you two could use somethin’ to drink,” Rick began, “you’ve been out here all day.”

Maggie nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I guess we have been. It’s just so nice out today. Didn’t really feel the need to stay cooped up inside.”

“I just hope the weather stays nice like this all night. It sure would be nice to get through one Bonfire Friday without freezin’ our asses off by the end of it.” Rick said, the corner of his lips tugging up and into a small smile.

“Once summer starts rollin’ around it’ll stay warm throughout the night. Shouldn’t be too bad tonight, though.” Maggie stood up then and wiped her palms on her jeans before bending over and picking up baby Hershel to balance him on her hip.

“You get any bigger, little man, and we’re gonna run out of clothes.” Glenn said, looking up at his wife and their son.

Maggie grinned. “Tell me about it.”

Rick stood up from his spot on the steps and walked over to retrieve Judith from the blanket. He picked her up and she immediately went to rest her head on his shoulder. He smiled and kissed the top of her head. He knew that he should begin to cherish these moments a little more, because she wasn’t going to be this small for much longer.

Hershel was starting to get fussy, so Maggie began bouncing him ever so lightly on her hip. That usually did the trick, but he hadn’t had a nap today, so he just continued to fuss.

“Here,” Glenn said, reaching out for his son, “I got him.”

Maggie handed him off to her husband and as soon as Hershel was in his arms, he was instantaneously quiet. Maggie rolled her eyes.

“Every single time.”

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but I do believe Hershel’s pickin’ favorites.” Rick teased.

Maggie shook her head. “He’s been pickin’ favorites since he came out of the womb.”

“I’m gonna go lie down with him, maybe I can convince him to take a nap.” Glenn said, and Maggie nodded in agreement.

He kissed the top of her head before retreating into the house with their son in his arms.

“I’ll go in there to check on ‘em in a minute and they’ll both be on the couch asleep.” Maggie said, laughing.

“Yeah, probably.” Rick smiled.

Daryl appeared, then, taking the steps two at a time, clearly in a hurry.

“Woah, where’s the fire?” Maggie teased.

“Ain’t no fire,” He said, turning to Rick, “ya got any sugar I can borrow?”

Rick cocked an eyebrow. He couldn’t, for the life of him, figure out why on Earth Daryl Dixon would be asking him to borrow sugar.

“Don’t ask,” Daryl said simply before speaking up again, not giving Rick, or Maggie, any time to get a word in, “Do ya have any or not?”

Rick was still confused, but he figured he’d just go along with it for now. “Yeah, in the kitchen. In the pantry. Should be on the second shelf.”

Daryl mumbled a “thanks” before heading off and into the house.

Maggie watched as he walked through the door, shaking her head. “I don’t think I even wanna know.”

A few minutes later, Daryl emerged from the house, sugar in hand. He was about to run back off the porch, but Maggie stopped him before he could.

“You comin’ to the bonfire tonight? Haven’t seen you there in a few weeks.”

“Nah,” he said, before trying to make his escape down the steps.

Maggie sighed, clearly frustrated. “Why ain’t ya comin’?”

“Jus’ don’t wanna, I guess.”

Maggie wasn’t stupid. She knew exactly why he didn’t want to go. He didn’t want to go because Jesus was going to be there. And lately, Daryl had been avoiding him like the plague.

She let him leave without asking anymore questions before turning to look at Rick.

“Will ya help me do somethin’?”

“Anythin’.”

“Daryl doesn’t wanna go to the bonfire because Jesus is gonna be there,” Maggie said, and Rick grinned, “but somethin’ tells me you already know that. Anyway, Jesus always goes to the bonfire hopin’ that he’s gonna run into Daryl there. I know it ain’t none of our business, not really, but those two idiots obviously have feelin’s for each other. And if they ain’t gonna do anythin’ about it, then I say we make ‘em do somethin’.”

Rick let out a chuckle and ran a hand over his beard. “So let me get this right. You wanna play matchmaker?”

Maggie smirked. “You interested?”

“Hell yeah.”

* * *

Later that day, Rick was sitting on a barstool in Daryl’s kitchen, trying to convince him to go to the bonfire.

“C’mon, Daryl, you haven’t been to a Bonfire Friday in weeks. Would it kill ya to go and eat a s’more, or I don’t know, have a little fun maybe?”

Daryl was standing in front of his friend with his head in his hands. He and Rick had been having this conversation for at least thirty minutes now and he was about to lose his mind.

“I’ve said no a million times by now, what makes ya think I’m gonna change my answer now?”

“Jesus ain’t gonna be there.”

Daryl perked up at this and tore his head away from his hands. He didn’t say anything, but Rick knew that he’d said the right thing.

“How come?” Daryl asked.

Rick shrugged. “Not sure. Just what Maggie said.”

Which wasn’t technically a lie. Maggie had told him to tell Daryl that Jesus wouldn’t be there. But at the same time, it was a lie, because Jesus was most definitely going to be there. Daryl didn’t have to know that though, at least, not yet.

“Alright,” Daryl said, “I’ll go.”

Rick smiled to himself. He wasn’t sure if this was going to work out as well as he and Maggie had planned, but one thing he did know was that it was going to be entertaining as hell to watch.

Daryl picked up a can of peaches that had clearly been drowned in syrup, then reached for the cup of sugar that he’d borrowed from Rick earlier and began pouring some into the can.

Rick’s face turned into one of semi-disgust. “Daryl, don’t those already taste sweet enough?”

“If they did, would I be addin’ sugar to ‘em?” Daryl spoke in a sarcastic tone, taking a spoon out of the drawer beside of the sink and sticking it into the can of peaches.

* * *

Maggie was sitting on the steps of Rick’s porch with Jesus at her side, trying to convince him to finally show Daryl that he was interested in him.

“He’s not even going to be there, Maggie.” Jesus said.

Maggie shook her head. “I’ve got it on pretty good authority that he’s for sure gonna be there tonight.”

“How’s that?”

“Just trust me.”

Jesus sighed. “Even if he is there tonight, I don’t think that it’s a good idea for me to tell him how I feel about him. I mean, he’s been avoiding me for weeks. He clearly doesn’t like me very much.”

Maggie laughed. “Actually, him avoidin’ you means that he likes you.”

Jesus lifted an eyebrow and shot her a questioning look.

“I’m not sayin’ you have to confess your undyin’ love for him or anythin’, just... put it out there that you’ve got feelin’s for ‘im. You might be surprised by what happens.”

Jesus wasn’t so sure of how much of what Maggie said to him that he believed, but he decided that if Daryl were there tonight, he’d at least try to make it somewhat known that he had an interest in him.

* * *

Eventually, it was time for bonfire night to start. In the middle of the street, there was a pile of sticks blazing with a few people standing, or sitting, around it. Some people had drinks in their hands, some people had s’mores, and some people had both.

There were a few logs around the fire that could be used for seating and Rick was sitting on one with Michonne. Beside of them, sitting on his own log, was Daryl.

On the other side of the street, there was an intense game of Corn Hole happening between Carl and Enid. Most of Alexandria’s residents had gathered to watch them, and if their obnoxiously loud cheers were anything to go by, Enid was totally kicking Carl’s ass.

Amongst the people that were watching the game were Maggie and Jesus. They were standing with Carl, shouting words of encouragement at him. They knew they weren’t actually helping though, because honestly, Carl was awful at it. Jesus came to the conclusion that it was due to the fact that he only had one eye, but he kept that opinion to himself.

Maggie glanced over at the fire and saw Daryl sitting in front of it, all alone. She nudged Jesus and then pointed at Daryl.

Jesus was taken aback. He couldn’t believe that he was actually there. And now that he knew he was, the reality of what Maggie had told him to do set in and he felt his stomach twist with nervousness.

“Go on,” Maggie encouraged, “you can do this. Stop by the punch bowl and get a cup on the way over there.”

“Maggie,” Jesus sighed, looking down at the cup of punch already in his hand. “I already have punch.”

Maggie rolled her eyes. “Not for you. For Daryl.”

“Oh. Yeah, that does make more sense.” Jesus said, before turning around to begin walking toward the punch bowl, and then toward Daryl Dixon.

He tried to walk, but it was as if his feet were superglued to the concrete ground.

“Jesus,” Maggie sighed, “what are you doin’?”

“I can’t move my legs.”

“Oh, for cryin’ out loud,” with that, Maggie shoved him into the direction of the punch bowl.

Once he finally reached his destination at the refreshments table, he took a plastic red cup and filled it up halfway with punch.

He had the punch, now all he had to do was give it to Daryl. It sounded easy enough. He just hoped that it _was_ actually easy enough.

He began taking steps forward, toward the fire, with a cup of punch in each of his hands. Before he reached the log that Daryl was sitting on, he took a deep breath to prepare himself.

Rick looked up and saw that Jesus was about to approach them, so he nudged Michonne and whispered, “C’mon, let’s go watch Enid beat Carl at Corn Hole.”

Michonne shot him a confused look, but once she saw Jesus standing behind Daryl, she understood.

They both stood up and walked to the other side of the street without saying a word to Daryl, which just confused the hell out of him. That is, until he heard a voice speak up from behind him.

“I, uhm, I brought you some punch.” Jesus said, holding out one of the red cups to Daryl.

Daryl groaned, taking the cup from the bearded man, who was now standing beside of him. He sat the cup down on the ground and looked up at him.

“The hell are you doin’ here?”

“Shouldn’t I be saying that to you? Seeing as how you’re never at a Bonfire Friday these days.”

Daryl grunted in response. He didn’t want to talk to him, but he didn’t necessarily want him to go away, either. He’d spent weeks avoiding him and over the course of those weeks, he’d forgotten how much he liked hearing him talk.

Daryl threw a hand up and lazily gestured at the empty spot next to him on the log. “Since you’re here, might as well make yourself comfortable.”

Jesus was apprehensive to take the seat, but he did it anyway.

They sat in silence for what felt like an eternity, when in reality, it was only about five minutes. It was Jesus who spoke up first.

“So, what made you decide to finally come to one of these things again?”

“Rick told me you weren’t gonna be here.” Daryl Dixon just fucking word vomited, and he knew it the moment the words stopped flowing out of his mouth.

Jesus’s eyes fell and he looked at the ground as he muttered an almost inaudible, “Oh, I see.”

“I’ll, uhm… I’ll just leave you to it, then.” Jesus said, flashing Daryl one of the saddest forced smiles that he’d ever seen before in his life, before standing up from his spot on the log.

Daryl shook his head and cursed himself for being so incredibly incapable of saying things that didn’t make him sound like a total dick. Before Jesus could start to walk away, Daryl reached out and grabbed onto his wrist. He stood up and sighed.

“I didn’t mean it like how it sounded.”

Jesus didn’t say anything, he just looked back over his shoulder at him and waited for him to keep going.

“I just meant… ah, fuck. Here we go,” Daryl groaned, but continued anyway. He was sure he was going to end up regretting this, “I ain’t been comin’ to bonfire nights because you’ve been here. But it ain’t like it sounds.”

Jesus turned around to face him, Daryl’s grip falling from his wrist. “Then how is it, Daryl? Because it sounds to me like you’re looking for every excuse not to be around me. Did I do something to upset you?”

Daryl immediately shook his head. “No. God, no. You didn’t… do nothin’ to upset me.”

“Then why won’t you talk to me?”

“Because I… ah, hell. I like ya.” He took a deep breath, “I like ya, Paul.”

Jesus couldn’t believe it. Maggie was right.

He looked up at Daryl and grinned so big that he swore he could feel his face ripping in half. His smile must’ve been contagious, because Daryl started to grin too.

“So you like me? Or you _like_ like me?”

Daryl rolled his eyes, but his smile didn’t fade. “We in kindergarten now?”

“Maybe,” Jesus chuckled, “You know, it’s funny, Maggie sent me over here so that I could tell you how I feel about you, but you’re the one who ended up telling me how you feel.”

Daryl’s eyes lit up at this. “How ya feel about me?”

Jesus felt his cheeks heat up. God, he was blushing like some sixteen-year-old girl. “Yeah. I like you too, Daryl.”

Daryl smiled then. A real, genuine smile. He wasn’t sure why someone like Jesus would ever have feelings for someone like him, but he wasn’t about to start complaining.

Jesus cleared his throat. “Hey, Daryl, can I ask you something?”

“’Course.”

“If I were to kiss you right now, what are the chances of you actually kissing me back?”

“I don’t know,” Daryl teased, “how ‘bout you do it and find out?”

Jesus didn’t give him any time to rethink his decision before crossing the small distance between them and pressing his lips to Daryl’s.

Maggie and Rick had been watching the two of them, and the second that Jesus and Daryl’s lips met, they gave each other a double high five.

**Author's Note:**

> Come cry over these two with me on [tumblr](http://bellamysmoaks.tumblr.com/) <3


End file.
